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APIL GRANTS HAVE MOVED

Starting Fall 2019, the APIL Faculty Innovation Grants are administered by the Kossen Center for Teaching & Learning. To apply for an APIL Grant, please visit the Kossen Center webpage.

Apply for the APIL Innovation Grant

Grant recipients will work closely with a member of the QEP Faculty Development committee and/or the Center for Teaching and Learning to determine effective ways to incorporate one new strategy or tool into their teaching and will share what they learn from their experiment with the broader MUW community.

The application period for the 2018-2019 academic year is now open. The deadlines are as follows:

  • Fall Semester (for use in fall or spring 2018-19): Application deadline is September 4, 2018
  • Spring Semester (for use by June 30 2019): Application deadline is January 21, 2019

 

Details about the program can be found below, including: Purpose, Eligible Projects/Expenses, Eligibility Requirements, Grant Period, Grant Expectations, Selection Criteria, and Application Guidelines.

After reviewing these guidelines, please complete the application form and attach your proposal and budget here.

 

Purpose

The purpose of the APIL Teaching Innovation Grant is to spur thoughtful and engaged experimentation with one new APIL pedagogical strategy or tool. In this way, the QEP Team aims to support faculty members' development as teacher-scholars by promoting innovative thinking about approaches to teaching, learning, and student engagement.

Eligible Projects / Expenses

APIL Teaching Innovation Grant funds may be used to fund professional development and/or to purchase equipment or materials that enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement and that would not otherwise be provided by the faculty member's home department. All funds must be spent in the current fiscal year.

Examples of possible expenses include, but are not limited to:

  • Conference, workshop, or webinar attendance to support faculty development related to discipline-specific instructional innovations to be adopted in the current or upcoming academic year (event must be completed no later than June 30, 2019).
  • Inviting a pedagogical speaker to campus.
  • Books and/or journal subscriptions related to pedagogical innovations (either within or across disciplines), such as books that would otherwise not be purchased by the recipient's department.
  • Hardware or software to support innovations aimed at making learning materials more accessible and inclusive (e.g., speech recognition / captioning software).
  • Upgraded subscriptions to otherwise-free cloud-based tools and storage platforms, such as Google Drive, Wikispaces, Wordpress, Blogger, etc. for classroom use.
  • Materials and/or equipment that supports the development of cases, scenarios, and/or simulations for authentic learning and assessment.
  • Audio-visual or other technology/production equipment to be used by MUW students as part of a course (e.g. portable media kits for student interviews or multi-media production).
  • Tables that can be reconfigured and used to create more flexible classroom seating and to study the effects of classroom seating on student collaboration and learning.
  • Technology like tablets, clickers, or similar items for use in interactive classroom settings.
  • Anatomy simulation models to supplement training in nursing or biology classes.
  • Audio-visual equipment and software used to support "flipped" classroom experiments (e.g., web cameras, microphones, other digital voice/video recording devices, writable tablets to capture worked problems on a screen, etc.). Again, these must not otherwise be available from the home department.
  • Computer equipment to support service-learning experiences in which students engage with the community, such as digitizing archival materials and creating printed banners, websites, etc. for use by local community partner organizations.

Grant funds may not be used for: stipends or other payments to students, faculty, or staff; and/or expenses related to travel that will occur after June 30, 2019. Funds are not available to support future maintenance costs associated with regular wear and tear for grant-purchased items.

Please Note: Any technology or equipment purchased is owned by Mississippi University for Women and must be returned to the Kossen Center for Teaching and Learning in the event that a faculty member leaves the University.

Eligibility

Awards are available to all MUW faculty who hold appointments in any department of the University and who will be continuing in in their faculty positions for at least the 2019-2020 academic year. Preference will be given to full-time faculty, but part-time and adjunct faculty are also encouraged to apply. Faculty who were previously awarded an APIL Teaching Innovation Grant may apply; however, priority consideration will be given to those who have not previously received this award.

Although most applications will be submitted by individuals, inter- or intra-disciplinary projects that involve two or more faculty members are also encouraged. In such cases, supporting materials should include a statement specifying whether the applicants are requesting one grant split between them or multiple parallel grants. In either case, joint applications will be judged by the same criteria as individual ones. Multiple submissions of proposals by the same person(s) in a single year are encouraged.

Grant Period

The grant award period is the July 1 2018 through June 30 2019, with the new tool or strategy being implemented in a class taught in 2018-19 or 2019-20 academic years (summers included). Grant expenses must be paid and any purchases received by the QEP Team and Provost's office no later than June 30, 2019 (the end of the fiscal year). Consultations with the QEP Faculty Development committee and/or Center for Teaching and Learning staff may continue throughout the summer and into the following academic year as needed.

Expectations

Successful recipients will be expected to:

  • Spend awarded funds as proposed through the QEP Faculty Development committee;
  • Collaborate with the QEP Faculty Development committee and/or the Center for Teaching and Learning staff to determine effective, evidence-based strategies for incorporating and assessing their new tool or strategy;
  • Measure the effects of the experiment in some way;
  • Submit a one-page report of work done within one month of the start of the semester following the semester in which the class was taught; and
  • Share the broad lessons they learn with the wider community. (The latter may be accomplished in a variety of ways, including but not limited to: submitting an article for publication, presenting at a disciplinary or pedagogical conference or at an MUW faculty development workshop or event, contributing to the QEP Faculty Development and/or Center for Teaching and Learning's web resources, etc.)

Please Note: Faculty who wish to make student data public as part of this dissemination may need to obtain IRB approval.

Selection Criteria

The most competitive applications will be those that articulate a single pedagogical innovation and clear rationale for trying it; demonstrate a clear need for the proposed grant-funded activities / items (i.e., funded materials are not available through existing campus resources or through regular professional and/or course development funds in the home department); and that seek to advance APIL-based, learner-centered instructional methods grounded in evidence-based research.

In reviewing applications, we will expect to see:

  • Clear, detailed description of what new strategy/tool/etc. the applicant will try;
  • Thorough articulation of the goals motivating the experiment/innovation (including a description of how that new strategy/tool/etc. is expected to improve one's existing practice);
  • Clear articulation of the rationale for the proposed grant-funded items or activities;
  • Consideration of how the applicant might measure or assess the effects of the proposed experiment / innovation
  • Awareness of any training and support needs and where the recipient will obtain this support; and
  • A detailed budget for the project's expenses.

Application Guidelines

Please complete this form and attach your proposal and budget by no later than the following deadlines for full consideration:

  • Fall Semester (for use in fall or spring 2018-19): Application deadline is September 4, 2018
  • Spring Semester (for use by June 30 2019): Application deadline is January 21, 2019

Applications will continue to be reviewed until funds are exhausted.

  • Project proposal of no more than 2 pages, detailing the following:
    • Clear, detailed description of what new strategy/tool/etc. the applicant will try;
    • Thorough articulation of the goals motivating the experiment/innovation (including a description of how that new strategy/tool/etc. is expected to improve one's existing practice);
    • Clear articulation of the rationale for proposed grant-funded items or activities;
    • Consideration of how the applicant might measure or assess the effects of the proposed experiment / innovation;
    • Awareness of any training and support needs and where the recipient will obtain this support.
    • Detailed budget for the project's expenses.

Remember, all expenses must be completed by June 30, 2019, the end of the fiscal year.